Marshalls Grand Opening: 1,000 Shoppers Flock To Route 59

SHOREWOOD, IL — At least 1,000 shoppers were expected to visit Shorewood's new Marshalls store that opened Thursday morning on Route 59. Around 3:30 p.m., the place was packed. There were customers standing outside waiting their turn to enter.

"We're doing great," Shorewood store manager Kathleen Emme told Joliet Patch's editor. "We've already had 600 transactions. I bet we get 1,000 people in today. We've seen old customers and new."

The new Marshalls is great news for Shorewood and bad news for Joliet. The clothing company closed its Joliet department store last week, coinciding with the move. The Joliet Marshalls had been at the North Ridge Plaza since 2011. The Joliet business was one of many retail stores in the North Ridge Plaza on North Larkin Avenue vandalized by looters on the night of May 31.

The looting did not factor into the company's decision to leave Joliet because Marshalls was already in the process of opening the new store in Shorewood.

The Shorewood store is slighter smaller than the Joliet store, but there's a lot more positives, Emme said.

"That one (in Joliet) was dark and old, and this is new and cheery," she said.

Among the other positives of moving to Shorewood, Marshalls is now in proximity to the Mariano's grocery store, Target, HomeGoods "and the eateries," Emme said.

Marshalls features brand-name clothes, purses, watches, shoes, kitchen and household accessories and more. The new Shorewood store currently has 62 employees.

During Thursday's grand opening, sales in juniors, ladies active wear, men's active wear, skin care and athletic shoes were doing terrific, the store manager explained.

"We're excited to be here in Shorewood," Emme told Patch. "The community's been great and everyone's been kind."

The new Marshalls is next to the Staples in the same business plaza that is anchored by the Mariano's grocery store. It's on the east side of Route 59.

The store's hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Marshalls will open at 9 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday just for senior citizens and people with underlying conditions, Emme added.